My First Cushion Compact Experience: IOPE Air Cushion XP

When I first heard of a compact with a cushion that delivers liquid foundation to yo’ face, I was super intrigued. My Korean people bringing the innovative beauty products!

After researching on the good ol’ web, I decided on the Amore Pacific IOPE Air Cushion XP in C23 (Cover Beige). I bought it at Korean beauty store in Atlanta for about $38. You can also find it at Peach and Lily. Your compact comes with one cushion already inside it and an extra cushion refill. For some, that could justify the $40ish price tag. 😉
One of the first things I noticed is the packaging. The royal blue and silver box that the compact comes in is so pretty (that I still have it.)

The actual compact is fatter than I expected.
The top has a pearly white sparkly sheen to it.

See what I mean…THICK.

I took my compact out to Central Park and looked like a weirdo taking photos of my makeup. I needed the light! Also, I need a pet so I’m not taking jaunts to the local park with…beauty products.

This is the actual cushion. Remember, you get a cushion refill with your compact. YAY!

What you get when you squish your (clean) finger into the cushion. Ooo, look at that foundation. The stuff does have a shampoo/facial cleaner scent to it. Floralish?

Here’s the antibacterial sponge. It has a bit of a rubbery texture, which I will get to next.

It took some trial and error to figure out the application. With this particular compact, you should pat the product onto your face. I was smearing and blending as I normally would with other liquid foundation, pulling the sponge across my face. There I was creating squeaky sounds while the stuff was actually pilling and streaking on my skin!

You can see some of the pilling here on my chin and under my eyes. Little balls of the foundation.

I always wondered why these Korean commercials showed women who were so dainty while applying their makeup. You HAVE to be dainty! PAT PAT PAT. Don’t slop it on and smear like I did.

image from fashionista.com

Once I got the patting down, I did love the dewy look this compact created.

Before

After

It did a good job of evening out my skin tone and brightening me up a bit! It took away a lot of my redness. Using it alone will probably not cover up big blemishes. This is more for light/medium coverage.

With makeup – no filter

I’m pretty sure this was with filter for my Instagram.

Here we go.

Pros:

*I love that it has Broad Spectrum SPF 50+.

*For a light makeup day, I just PAT this on and am ready to go. So easy, and it looks nice!

*It make my skin look hydrated. I find that it’s perfect for the cooler, dry weather. This kind of adds a layer of consistent “wetness” that seems to protect it from drying up.

Cons:

*Since it does seem to maintain its stickiness, you have to be careful about it transferring to clothes and whatnot. I remember one day foregoing a nap because I didn’t want to get it on my bed and pillows. I guess it helped me with productivity?

*If you have a small clutch, this will not fit inside it due to the compact’s size.

*It can get messy! It’s so much easier using the edges of your sponge that you will inevitably get foundation on the sides and top of your sponge. I was sad when that happened, but I was secretly pleased to know it wasn’t just me when I saw youtube videos of beauty gurus with schmutz on their sponges. Not that I’m hating. I’m just saying that I’m relieved to know I’m not alone!

*If you’re really oily, this foundation may not work for you. Also, I can’t imagine myself using this during the summer heat here in NYC. If you live in humid, hot climate, the sweat and this product could lead to breakouts, etc.

*There aren’t a lot of skin tone options for this makeup.

*Dewy skin can cross that line into just shiny skin. Which may not work for you. Also, in photos, my face sometimes looked plain oily. I don’t wear this if I’m going to castings or if I know I will be professionally photographed. For casual photos, yeah, I was ok with looking like a Crisco face. FYI, this is just an issue for me in pics. In person, people would compliment me on my glowing skin. Thumbs up!

Tips:

1) If your cushion dries up, try turning it over to the other side. You should get some foundation out of doing that.

2) Not all cushion compacts are created equally. If you would like to go for a less dewy look or have more coverage, try out other cushion compacts. I have read that the Laneige and Innisfree compact cushion has a more matte finish and that the Hera one has buildable coverage. Also, to lessen dewiness, one trick is to dust on some powder afterward.